Bezpłatny fragment - Neighbor from Lipowa Street

Miss Euphrosyne Umbrella never smiled. Or at least none of her neighbors remembered it. She lived at the end of Lipowa Street, in a large white house, and drove to work every day in a large white car. And then, one day, she stopped going to work and started spending a lot of time in her big garden. Maya and Michael mother said then that Miss Umbrella was apparently already retired.

„And what is a pensioner?” Michael asked curiously.

„She is a lady who has grandchildren,” said Maya, „like Mrs. Joana. She’s also a pensioner, Stan and Johny told me.

„It’s not quite like that, Maya,” her mother explained, „Mrs. Joaana is also a pensioner, which means that she doesn’t have to go to work anymore and now she gets paid for working so long. And besides, she has grandchildren, so she’s a grandmother to them. But not every retiree is a grandmother. Miss Umbrella has no grandchildren, so she is not a grandmother.

„And why do Stan and Johny have a grandmother and we don’t?” Michael asked in an offended tone.

„They even have two grandmothers and one grandfather,” Maya supported her brother, „and we don’t!”

„Because your grandfathers and grandmothers died, unfortunately, before you were born,” my mother reminded us, „my father and I have already explained this to you.

„But I’d like to have a grandmother too,” Michael, who often played with Mrs. Joana’s grandchildren, was still grumpy.

„And why doesn’t Miss Umbrella have grandchildren?” She became interested

Michael and Maya stayed in the yard and watched from a distance as Miss Eufrozyna planted some shrubs along the pavement in her garden, on the other side of the street.

„Or does Miss Umbrella want grandchildren?” Michael looked at his sister with a questioning look.

„We’ll, ask her when she goes to the store,” the girl understood her brother at once.

The children knew that the neighbor walked past their gate every day after dinner, going to buy groceries and returning home with the groceries. They were not allowed to leave the garden alone, and anyway the gate was locked.

That day, the siblings ate dinner quickly and without complaining, and immediately afterwards they showed up at the fence. As it turned out, just in time. Miss Euphrosyne was walking with a quick, sweeping step towards the shop.

„Good morning,” each of the children greeted her politely.

„Good morning,” she grumbled, not slowing her pace.

„Madam,” cried Maya, „wouldn’t you like to have grandchildren?”

„No,” said Miss Umbrella, without even turning away.

Michael was sad, but Maja offered him to play in the sandbox and a moment later the children were busy building the tower and forgot about their neighbor.

*

A few days later, just before dawn, Miss Euphrosyne took her poles and went for her morning walk. It was chilly and a light rain, but Miss Umbrella walked no matter what the weather. Every day for an hour. Lipowa Street led straight to the nearby park, and it was there that it always wandered along the still empty alleys. But that day, as soon as she reached the gate of the park, she heard crying. She looked around carefully, but saw no one. She walked forward, and again the moaning sounds reached her ears. She turned back to the gate, for it seemed to her that they were coming from somewhere beyond the bench at the gate. Underneath the bench was a cardboard box, and a wail came out of it. Miss Euphrosyne opened the wet box with a decisive movement. Inside, two soaked, chilled balls were cowering from the cold, making desperate noises again and again.

„And what kind of bastard did he leave you here?!” Miss Euphrosyne was indignant, and with the box under her arm she turned back to the house.

Gently towed dry and fed with milk, the creatures calmed down and fell asleep wrapped in a soft blanket, and Miss Umbrella telephoned the nearest animal shelter.

„Of course you can bring them to us,” said the shelter worker, „but maybe one of your friends would like a cat?” Then they would probably find a home faster. We have a lot of animals, and there aren’t many takers for such ordinary, brown kittens. It would be different if they were thoroughbred, or, for example, tricolored…

„Something, too!” Miss Euphrosyne was irritated, and hung up the phone with a crash. „Are the brown and the non-racial worse?”

She bent over the sleeping kittens and murmured:

„We’ll find you good homes.” And you don’t have to be extraordinary.

As if in response to her promise, one of the kits opened its eyes and began to purr softly.

*

That same morning, Miss Parasol visited almost all the neighbors on Lipowa Street, asking if anyone would like a cat. Unfortunately, no one wanted to. In the end, she reached out to Michael’s and Maya’s mom, but she also refused:

„I’m very fond of animals, but my husband is allergic to fur. If it wasn’t for that, we would have decided on a furry one a long time ago.

„Can we at least see the cats?” Maya looked pleadingly from her mother to her neighbor.

Michael focused all his attention on Miss Euphrosyne and, with his head turned up, tried to convince her that he and his sister would be very polite and would not frighten the kittens, but would look at them for a short while. At last Miss Umbrella yielded to his entreaties.

„Well, if Mama will let you…”

„Of course, if you don’t mind, the children can go see the cats. I’m just asking you to take them home later. They never go out on the street alone.”

Miss Euphrosyne, who evidently thought that her neighbour would go with her children, seemed surprised, but it was no longer proper for her to retreat.The children politely shook hands with her and marched with her to the big white house. The house was also white: white walls, white furniture, white curtains and white napkins.

„Do you like white?” Maya asked, and without waiting for an answer, she said, „And I like blue.” My mom made me blue curtains and my dad painted my closet blue.

„I prefer green over there,” Michael interjected.

„That’s why Dad painted our desks and chairs green,” Maya explained.

„Oh, and that kitten has green eyes,” the boy said happily at the sight of the animal running towards them.